


Day 23 - Argument

by marvel_and_mischief



Series: December Writing Challenge [23]
Category: Ex Machina (2015), Oscar Isaac - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28259700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvel_and_mischief/pseuds/marvel_and_mischief
Summary: Nathan doesn't like your Christmas decorating.
Relationships: Nathan Bateman/Reader, Nathan Bateman/You
Series: December Writing Challenge [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035513
Kudos: 1





	Day 23 - Argument

“I don’t like it,” Nathan stated, emotionless and to the point, hands on his hips as he stared you down.

“That’s why I didn’t ask your opinion,” you replied, a frown on your face the only sign that you were getting rapidly pissed off at your boyfriend.

“I’m giving my opinion because it’s my house.” A cock of the eyebrow, crossing of the arms that made his biceps bulge, squinting at you ever so slightly in frustration.

“How many times are you going to use that in an argument?”

“Whenever you’re doing something I don’t like.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” you shook your head in disbelief and matched his posture, crossing your arms and glaring back at Nathan.

He wasn’t going to look away, much too stubborn for your liking. But you couldn’t take his penetrating stare any longer and decided to be the bigger person and turn away, instead looking at the source of your argument, realising once again how childish he was being.

“It’s a bit of tinsel,” you grumbled under your breath, spying the offending object you had draped along the coffee table.

“It’s a distraction.”

“From what?” You raised your voice higher than you intended, but he was being ridiculous for wanting to argue over this, “you don’t work in here!”

“I will walk through here, see it, it’ll piss me off and I won’t be able to work to peak performance for the rest of the day,” Nathan insisted, casually taking a step closer to you.

“Bullshit!” You exclaimed, pushing him away from you with a hand to his chest. He grabbed your wrist loosely but enough that you couldn’t pull away.

“Why is this so important to you?” Nathan asked, his voice quieter, more intimate, but no less stern.

You sighed, body relaxing in defeat when you realised there was no getting away from Nathan. 

“Look at this place. It’s white and clinical, I wouldn’t even call it a home-“

“That’s because it’s a lab,” Nathan reminded you, making a show of closing his mouth to let you continue when you tugged your wrist angrily to try and get away from his obtuseness.

“It’s _Christmas_ , I just want some fucking tinsel in here, why is that too much to ask?”

Nathan seemed to ponder your comment, tenderly lowering your arm to your side before letting it go. You felt a little bit of hope rise in your chest, maybe he was going to change his mind. 

“Get it off my coffee table,” he demanded, pushing past you and leaving the room without a second glance.

Nathan knew he was being a bastard, of course a little bit of tinsel wasn’t going to ruin his day but he knew he had ruined yours, and he found himself feeling bad for that. 

When he came into the living room that morning and saw you taping the tinsel to the table, he wasn’t sure why he saw red, why it pissed him off so much that you were decorating his house, but maybe it had something to do with the shock of someone wanting to make a home with him, make it pretty and festive and _homely_. 

Nathan couldn’t remember the last time he had celebrated Christmas, probably with his parents when he was very young. The tinsel had brought back vague emotional memories of kindness and fun, love and laughter, and his instinct was to push that as far away from him as possible. Push _you_ far away so he wouldn’t have to feel those things again, lest you break his heart like they did. 

Rushing into his bedroom Nathan threw himself down in front of his computer, immediately opening up the web browser. He wasn’t a complete asshole, though he was sure you thought so. He couldn’t exactly say _sorry_ but he would make it up to you some other way.

-

You were hesitant to enter the living room the next morning, not wanting another argument with Nathan. You had done as he asked, taking the tinsel off the table and throwing it in the bin. You couldn’t deny that it had hurt, not understanding why it bothered him as much as it did. Nathan wasn’t someone who talked about his feelings so you doubted you would ever know.

You didn’t notice anything at first, head down in the book you intended to read as your bare feet patted into the room, taking you in the direction of the couch. It was only when you were pulling your legs underneath you and settling in for the morning that you heard Nathan clearing his throat. Your head shot up to see him stood next to a white artificial tree, half his height, tiny LED lights at the ends of the plastic ‘firs’ giving off a shimmering effect much like tinsel did in the light. 

“So tinsel is banned but Christmas trees are allowed?” You asked, a shy smile on your lips and sarcasm in your voice. Nathan looked at you over his glasses, debating whether he should deny you the tree as well if that’s how you were going to thank him.

“It goes down the day after Christmas,” Nathan insisted, but if that was his only compromise then you were more than happy to agree.

You beamed at him, jumping up from the couch to skip over and wrap your arms around Nathan’s neck in a tight hug. He didn’t have to say the words out loud, it was the perfect apology.


End file.
